


Years to Come

by JoMouse



Series: New Year [3]
Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vacation, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, New Year's Resolutions, New Years, Past Character Death, Suicidal Thoughts (past), Vacation, Vacation AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 02:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13226115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: It's New Year's Eve on the Isle of Wight, again, and Zayn and Liam are arriving at the cottage, together, for the first time.





	Years to Come

**Author's Note:**

> First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! (The plan is that I will hit publish at 1201 EST, so crossing fingers.)
> 
> I wrote this on New Year's Eve (much like last year), but have been planning it since I hit publish on last year's installment. I hope that you enjoy it all, despite how little time I took writing it.
> 
> As of right now, I don't plan to continue this series next year, but who knows, things might change.
> 
> I hope you are all doing alright and have a wonderful 2018 filled with happiness, financial security, and dreams coming true!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Liam hung up his phone, sliding it into his pocket with a grin, as he scanned the horizon. His phone had been ringing all week with requests from friends to join him for the holiday, claiming it had been too long since they’d seen the suddenly reclusive author. He’d politely declined all the invitations, reminding everyone that he already had plans for the New Year and they were not to be altered for any reason. He placed another shirt and a small box into his suitcase before closing it and snapping it securely shut. 

He glanced around his flat as he moved through it, looking over the boxes that were piled throughout. He’d lived in this flat since graduating from Uni and although he’d had the financial opportunity to move into something bigger, he’d never found a reason before now. He stopped in the kitchen to grab the cooler he’d packed earlier and his car keys before heading out the door and down to his car. 

He smiled as he reached the car park and saw the figure leaning against his vehicle, arms crossed and head tilted towards the sky. If Liam were an artist, he would attempt to paint the vision he was being blessed with right now, but instead he was a writer and the view was so amazing, all words escaped him. “Hey, you bum. Yeah, you. Move over! Get your ass off that Range Rover!” he shouted instead.

Zayn chuckled as he shifted to look at Liam, sliding off his sunglasses to give an unamused look despite the tugging at the corners of his lips he couldn’t completely suppress. “I’m beginning to regret introducing you to the majesty that is  _ Rent,” _ he said, glancing at Liam’s economy hybrid. “And this is the furthest thing from a Range Rover you could get.”

Liam had reached him by the time he was done speaking, pressing a kiss to Zayn’s lips before moving to unlock the boot and throw his bag inside. “Yeah, but you don’t love me for my car.”

Zayn tossed his own bag in beside Liam’s and pulled him into a longer kiss. “Or your sense of humour,” he teased when the kiss ended, racing away to hop in the passenger seat, narrowly avoiding a smack to the arse from Liam.

Liam slammed the boot shut and climbed into the driver's seat, smiling at the grinning man next to him. It was hard to believe that a year before they were still relatively strangers and yet he’d already been in love with him. He thought back to the second New Year’s they’d spent together in Zayn’s cottage on the Isle of Wight and how they’d barely parted company since that day.

Leaving to return to their respective homes had been terrifying for Liam; a small part of him had been convinced he’d never see Zayn again, that the fates that brought them together in the beginning was going to be cruel. Then they’d discussed where they lived when they weren’t hiding away together, stunned to discover their flats were only a few buildings apart. As they'd talked, they’d realized that their lives mirrored each other in ways they’d never realized.

He and Zayn frequented the same coffee shop that just happened to be on the bottom floor of the advertising agency where Zayn worked as a copywriter. Liam’s gym was two doors away from the shop where Zayn’s sister had recently become manager. Zayn’s mum cut Liam’s hair on the rare occasion he remembered to get it cut. All of these chances for the two of them to meet and it had taken a lonely New Year’s Eve for it to finally happen and another year before they got their heads out of their asses to exchange contact information.

It didn’t take long after they’d returned to London that Liam was spending more nights in Zayn’s flat than his own. For Valentine’s Day, Zayn had given him his own drawer and toothbrush. Then around the middle of summer, Liam had discovered an extra key on his keyring. He’d moved his laptop into the small office in Zayn’s flat on the first day of Autumn, spending his days writing there while Zayn was at work instead of returning to his own flat.

Shortly before Christmas, Zayn asked him to officially move in and Liam counter offered with finding a flat of their own. So, while Zayn went to spend the holidays with his family, Liam invited his own to his flat while he packed things up. Those three days apart made Liam realize that he wanted more than just living together with Zayn, so he and his sisters had gone shopping to pick up the ring that was currently hidden inside his suitcase.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Zayn spoke up, bringing Liam back to himself, making him realize they were still parked. 

“Not worth that much,” Liam responded, finally slipping the car into gear and getting the car moving.

Zayn chuckled as he turned his face towards the window, letting his mind wander to the days ahead of them. This was the first time that they would be arriving at the cottage together, that their clothes would be sharing the drawers he used to share with Dax. He swallowed down the flutter of unease he felt in his stomach, recognizing it for what it was, fear of change, nothing more. He felt Liam’s fingers tangle with his own, squeezing gently. He glanced over and although Liam was facing the windshield, he kept glancing at Zayn out of the corner of his eyes.

“I love you,” Liam whispered, squeezing again.

“I love you, too,” Zayn assured, bringing their joined hands up and kissing the back of Liam’s hand.

They had tried a few times over the past year to return to the cottage, but something always seemed to come up. Between the novel deadlines and proposals and the addition of the great news that a film was being made based on his first novel with a possible option for two more, Liam had been flying back and forth between London and New York and Los Angeles. Zayn had been offered a promotion over the summer, giving him more responsibility and meaning longer hours.

Despite how busy they were, they managed to spend as much time together as possible. Zayn had been fortunate to be able to travel with him sometimes, his own company coordinating business trips when they could and providing paid vacation when they could not. Liam spending more and more time at Zayn’s flat meant that whenever Zayn came home, there was food waiting for him, so he wasn’t falling into bad habits again like he had after Dax’s death when he’d thrown himself into work just so he didn’t have to be home alone.

About halfway through the drive, Liam pulled into a McDonald’s to use the restroom and grab something to drink. He smiled as he realized that Zayn was sound asleep in the seat next to him, his grip still good on Liam’s hand and his forehead pressed against the window. Liam turned in his seat, raising a hand to lay gently against Zayn’s jaw, his thumb brushing lightly over the defined cheekbone. Zayn’s eyelashes fluttered open and a smile spread across his face as their eyes met.

“Are we there?” he asked, rubbing his cheek against Liam’s palm, sighing contentedly.

“Only about halfway. I’m taking a wee and getting something to drink. You want anything?” He smiled as Zayn shook his head and turned his body sideways to curl up in the front seat of the car. Soft snores escaped as Liam climbed out and shut his door as quietly as possible, making sure the vehicle was locked behind him.

As soon as Zayn heard the horn honk announcing the locking of the vehicle, he counted to thirty Piccadilly before opening his eyes and sitting up in the seat. Leaning down between his legs, he opened his bag and double checked the inside pocket. He gave a relieved sigh as his hands wrapped around what he was looking for. Pulling his hand out, he quickly closed the bag and returned to his fake sleeping position as he saw Liam leaving the restaurant, two drinks and a bag of food in hand. 

Zayn pretended to wake up once Liam was inside the car and it began moving. He could hear Liam wrestling with the bag, trying to get something out, so he smacked his lips and stretched, giving Liam a side eye. “Food?”

The rest of the drive passed quickly and once they’d arrived at the ferry, they got out of the car to stand along the railing and watch the water. Huddled together with cups of Starbucks coffee, they kept warm. They discussed their previous trips to the Isle and how different it was now to be sharing the trip with someone else. Liam smiled when an elderly woman came up to them with a soft grin on her face.

“Zayn,” she said, her voice bold, belying the fragility of her frame. “It is so good to see you smiling.”

“Mrs. Glass,” he greeted with a hug and a kiss to her leathery cheek. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you. Have you finally moved off the Isle?”

“Yes. Yes. After Adam passed, I just couldn’t see living here full time anymore, so I moved to London to live with my daughter,” she explained, her eyes flicking from Zayn to Liam.

Zayn felt his heart clench as her words sank in. “I didn’t know your husband was gone, ma’am. I am so sorry to hear that.” He began to wonder just how much he’d missed while walking about in a fog after Dax’s death. 

“Oh, don’t worry yourself; his death was shortly after Dax’s, so I wouldn’t have expected you to know what was going on.” Her hand covered her mouth and her eyes looked so sorrowful that Zayn almost laughed.

“This is Liam,” he said instead. “He knows all about Dax and I’m really doing alright.” Her smile grew and the three of them continued to talk until it became too cold for Mrs. Glass and she returned to her daughter’s vehicle.

Once the ferry docked, they drove the short distance to the cottage. Liam following Zayn’s directions because he still struggled to identify the building from the front. They stood together on the porch, suitcases at their feet staring at the doorknob. “I don’t think I’ve ever come in through the front door,” Liam finally said, trying to remember the year before, but once they’d been inside together, they hadn’t left until it was time to return to London.

Zayn nodded, taking a deep breath. He knew that Dax would want him to be happy, would want him to have moved on after he was gone, but a part of him still worried he was forgetting. He wondered what people would think of him being involved with someone else so soon; Dax had only been gone for three years and now he was preparing to live with someone else. He shook his head, focusing on Mrs. Glass’s kind words about seeing him smile and how happy his family was for him.

Liam could practically read Zayn’s mind as he reached shaky hands to unlock the front door and, for the first time, he began to doubt that little box in his suitcase. He was ready to tell Zayn that he’d just head home when he turned the key, pushing the door open and stepping inside. He took a few steps before looking back at Liam. “You coming?”

They unpacked quickly and quietly before heading into the kitchen. They checked the cupboards, getting rid of nearly everything because it’d expired over the year and making a list of what they needed from the grocery store to get through the weekend. As much as Liam didn’t want to fight the crowds that were most likely going to be filling the aisles of the store preparing for that night’s festivities, he offered to go alone so that Zayn could have some time alone in the cottage.

Zayn didn’t realized how much he wanted to be alone until Liam offered. He stood on the porch and watched him drive away, waving. Once he couldn’t see the car anymore, he went back into the cottage and into the bedroom. Moving towards the closet, he opened the door and stood on his tiptoes to pull the box down from the shelf. Sitting on the floor, leaning his back against the side of the bed, he opened the box and began pulling out the contents.

Two years earlier, the morning after saying goodbye to Liam for the first time, he’d moved through the cottage and pulled down all mementos of Dax, except for the one picture that still stood on the shelves in the sitting room. He couldn’t bring himself to dispose of the memories, so he’d put them in this box and stowed them away on the shelf until he could figure out what to do with them next. He swallowed back tears as he spread the pictures out across the floor, touching each one as he remembered his husband.

As he continued, he found the tears drying as he began to laugh at the memories he’d shared with Dax. It was surprising to feel joy as he remembered when, until he’d met Liam, everything had been soured with the pain of loss. Now, as he picked up the photo of their wedding day, he only felt joy that he’d been blessed to have had Dax in his life for the short time that he had. His experiences with him had taught Zayn how to open up and to love without boundaries.

When he’d awoken in the hospital to find out that Dax had been killed in the accident, he’d thought for sure that he’d never love again, never smile, never live. He’d spent a year in the darkest place he’d ever been mentally, barely hanging on. Then, by habit, he’d returned to the Isle for the following New Years, not even caring or thinking about what he would do with his life when that holiday was over. He’d even briefly thought about ending it all by walking into the ocean until the water swept him away.

He’d even gone outside to the beach, stopping as he saw the stars in the sky and remembered his first date with Dax, lying on a picnic blanket and staring up at the night sky as Dax had taught him about astronomy and the names of all of the stars. He hadn’t even realized he’d dropped to the ground until someone settled next to him on the beach. He’d flinched at first, wondering if the person was drunk and would disturb his solitude. Although he was worried, he found himself saying hello. The stranger had returned the greeting, but then had fallen into silence, almost as if he’d known that the moment deserved reverence. 

Zayn looked at the clock and realized Liam had been gone for almost an hour and would probably be due back soon. He started putting the photos back into the box, sealing it back up and placing it back on the shelf. He may not want to throw them away, but he knew that he was ready to move on. Moving through the cottage, he exited the doors and made his way down the beach, sad that the sun had set so early that he’d missed it, as he settled into the sand.

He stretched his legs out in front of himself and leaned back on his elbows, staring up at the sky. He could feel the damp sand soaking into his clothing, but he didn’t care as he thought back to Liam and that first night on the beach, probably right in the spot that he was sitting now. Looking up and down the beach, he was still awed by how empty it always was on this night. He loved that about the cottage and still couldn’t believe he’d been ready to sell it the previous year, until Liam had found him and stopped him.

Zayn wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Liam settled next to him, tossing a pair of gloves and a knit hat into Zayn’s lap as he did. “Hello,” Zayn whispered.

“Hi,” Liam returned, smiling softly as they continued to stare out at the water.

Time passed and Liam waited, knowing that Zayn was lost in his own head and not wanting to rush him back into the cottage, despite the dozen candles he knew were burning on various surfaces throughout the sitting room. There was also a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket of ice and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries in the refrigerator. It was all very cliche, but Liam knew that Zayn was a sucker for typical romance.

Zayn rose to his feet quietly, brushing off his pants before offering a hand to Liam, who took it and allowed himself to be led back into the cottage, the entire thing reminiscent of the night they had met. He smiled when Zayn gasped at the candles, pulling Liam into a kiss. He excused himself to the loo as Liam hurried to bring the strawberries and champagne into the sitting room. He glanced at the clock on the mantle, knowing it was only a few more hours until midnight. He reached into his pocket and fingered the ring he’d hidden there, smiling and hoping that Zayn would say, “Yes.”

Zayn came into the living room, having changed into his pajamas and handed over a matching set to Liam with a shy smile. Taking the hint, Liam moved to the bedroom to change out of his sandy clothes. He was relieved the pajama bottoms had a pocket as he transferred the ring. Taking a deep breath, Liam made his way back to the sitting room, watching as Zayn moved the clock from the mantle to the table, moving it slightly until it was in the center as it had been the two previous years.

He also noticed two plates with sandwiches and crisps sitting on the table, along with two bottles of beer. Liam moved to the sofa, pulling Zayn down to sit next to him with a laugh before he grabbed the plates, settling one in Zayn’s lap before he picked up the bottles, handing one to Zayn. They talked quietly while they ate. They discussed the move and the upcoming trip to Los Angeles they were both taking, planning one day to visit Disneyland, something Liam was excited about; his family used to visit Disney World every year at Christmas, but this was the first time he’d be going to Disneyland. 

When they were done eating, Zayn took the dishes and empty bottles to the kitchen while Liam popped the champagne cork, his eyes on the stain that still remained from the year they met. He’d obviously let himself get distracted as the cork popped and liquid spilled over onto the carpet. He flushed when he heard laughter behind him. “We might have to replace the carpet, now,” he said.

“We. I like that,” Zayn responded, moving to pick up the champagne flutes and  glancing at the clock. “It’s five minutes to midnight. Any resolutions?”

Liam was surprised how quickly the night had passed and he could feel nervousness building up in his stomach as he sat on the sofa and pulled Zayn into his lap, a position that they’d taken the previous two New Years. “To do everything in my power to make you happy,” Liam said, his voice serious as he reached into his pocket, palming the ring before drawing his hand out and wrapping his arm around Zayn’s waist. “You?”

“Same,” he said with a smile, rubbing his nose against Liam’s.

“You’re going to do everything in my power to make you happy?” Liam teased, laughing as Zayn began to fidget in his lap before biting the tip of Liam’s nose. 

“You know what I mean.” His voice was huffy, but he had a wide grin on his face as he glanced at the clock again. He took a deep breath as he he bit his lip before whispering, “10…”

Liam tightened his grip on the ring in his fist. “9…”

Zayn moved his hands into his lap and glanced down at them. “8…”

Liam swallowed loudly at Zayn closing in on himself. “7?”

Zayn looked him in the eyes and smiled. “6…”

Liam let out a sigh of relief. “5…”

They began to count down in unison, “4...3…”

Liam held the ring between two fingers and held it up in front of Zayn. “Marry me?”

Zayn laughed out loud as he held up an identical ring. “Only if you marry me.”

They were laughing so hard as they both nodded and fumbled with their rings, that they completely missed the beginning of the New Year. As they fell into each other, kisses sloppy because their smiles were too big to contain, they realized that it didn’t matter because they had many New Years to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come talk to me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). I really love meeting new people!


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